The Demon's Angel
by JuliusRootLover
Summary: Dark Knight Rises fanfic. The story of Talia al Ghul before she ever had plans to meet Bruce or go to Gotham.
1. Escape

**Author's**** Note****:**** I went to the premiere of Dark Knight Rises, and when I left I found myself just really wanting to write something about Ra's and Talia al Ghul. I found out that Ra's al Ghul means "The Demon's Head" in Arabic, and I thought it was really cool that his daughter's name, Talia al Ghul, means "The Demon's Angel". So I named the story after her. This is my favorite of my stories, so please R&R! Will be posting next chapter ASAP (I suck with deadlines, but I really like this story, so I'll try to hurry).**

**Chapter 1: Escape**

If ever there was a place that was truly a prison, this was it. It was always damp, dirty, and cold and the only light came from the large hole where new prisoners would enter. Scarcely any would ever come out.

The food was terrible. The beds were terrible. The people were terrible. But all the hellish qualities of this place had little to no visible effect on Talia for, being the only child ever born in the prison; it was all she had ever known.

That is, it _used_ to not bother her. But, ever since her mother had been murdered in their cell, within her grew the need to leave this horrid place.

She would have been dead by now as well, if it wasn't for her protector, Bane. He had been just a boy when they put him in the pit, and Talia had been born a few weeks later. By the time she could walk, he was watching over her. Within a few years, he was her trusted guardian.

He had also decided to help her escape.

The only way to get out of the prison was to go to the bottom of the hole, where a man would tie a rope around your waist, and if you could climb out, you were free to leave.

There was one section of the wall with two large blocks protruding from it, and the only way to get from one to the other was to jump very high and far. It was where most men failed the climb.

"It will be hard," Bane had told her, "But we must try." He believed that the hardest part of their plan would not be the climb, but even getting to the area in the first place. The death of her mother had made her the only female in the prison, and many of the men had plans to take her when she matured. They would not let her go easily. "So," Bane had said, smiling, "I will just have to hold onto you all the harder."

She had smiled back.

On the morning of their escape, they woke up before most of the other prisoners and began slowly making their way to where the climb began. It took much time, and many more people awoke but, luckily, they did not notice the pair as they slunk past the cells. They were almost there now, and soon they would only be a few stepping stones from freedom but, just as they were nearing the walls of the hole, someone shouted, "Look! He's taking the girl!" Suddenly, the rest of the men rose, and the whole of the prison's occupants were charging towards Bane and Talia.

"We must leave _now_!" Bane shouted. They ran to the wall and he helped her get up to start climbing, not taking time with the ropes. He started climbing then, but something grabbed his leg and dragged him down. The other prisoners had caught up with them. Bane fought off the first few, but they quickly overwhelmed him. He looked up at his friend. "Goodbye, Talia." He said calmly, then he disappeared among the thriving mass of vicious and raging prisoners.

"_Bane!_" she screamed.

Then, from somewhere among the fight, his bald head popped up. "_Go_!" Then he was gone again.

She turned back to the task at hand and climbed as fast as she could. After what felt like an eternity, she reached the two stepping stones. The jump was far, the leap high, and in that moment it looked like such an un-crossable distance that she wanted to turn back. After a few moments of thought, she realized she had little choice in the matter. If she went back they would probably kill her. Bane was being beat to a pulp because of their anger. She looked back at the distance between the stones.

Few had ever made it past this step.

That was why she had to.

And so, blood pumping with fear, she ran a few steps forward and jumped. It felt like time had slowed down, and she was falling, falling, falling…and then her hands gripped onto something smooth and solid.

The stone!

She had made it.

Climbing up, she looked down to see Bane being dragged away. They wouldn't kill him, of that she was sure, but it made her shudder to think of what tortures would be in store for him. "I'll come back for you," she whispered, "I promise."

And with that she pulled herself over the lip of the hole and looked out at the world that awaited her.

She knew how to help Bane, how to save him.

She would find her father.

She would find Ra's Al Ghul.


	2. Search

**Chapter 2: Search**

In almost a year, her mission had proved remarkably unfruitful.

She had followed every lead and all roads, questioning merchants, criminals, even officers of the law, but Ra's al Ghul was good at covering his tracks. He hardly left a trace and, when he did, it often wasn't discovered until too late.

The only information she had was his name, occupation, and a picture of him that a merchant had given her. She had spent many hours studying the picture, learning every groove and pore of his face. It was vital that she be able to locate him in any setting within a moment's notice, as she never knew when she might be lucky enough to walk into an inn and see him ordering a drink.

Once she found him, it would be hard to get him to believe that she was his daughter. He was an intelligent man, the merchants often said, and he would most likely turn her away if her story wasn't just right. Her explanation had to very accurate and confidently spoken. She spent many a night rehearsing in her head.

In her searches, she made sure to inquire the whereabouts of any lone mercenaries or mercenary camps, especially anyplace where criminal aces would be. If this method proved ineffective, she would show the picture of him around and ask if anyone had seen him. If this also didn't work, she would ask if any of them had heard of a man named Ra's al Ghul. After all this, she would search the streets for newspapers, letters, posters, anything that would discuss or have to do with any kind of assassin or soldier for hire.

Her searches were always as thorough and logically planned as she could afford to let them be, and she was usually lucky enough to locate another step in her father's trail every few weeks or so.

"What's a kid like you want a guy like him for, anyways?" one curious merchant had asked. "Not too many little girls are so interested in Ra's al Ghul. Are you looking for a husband? Or do you have someone that you need killed? Because I very much doubt the validity of those reasons."

She just walked away. He had been asking too many questions in the first place, and the condescending way he looked at her had made her uncomfortable. He had acted so pompous and proud. He seemed to think that, just because he could read and write and had gone to university, he was better than "some homeless scrap".

For the first few months, her task had seemed to be in God's favor, but she soon began to lose hope and realized that her searches were taking too long. There had been one city where they had told her Ra's al Ghul had left only a few days before. She had hurried through the next few towns, but the trail soon ran cold, and she was growing more desperate by the day.

Then, there was a miracle.

In the smallest town you'd ever seen in your life.

On the tenth month of her search.

Just when she was about to give up.


	3. Close

**Author's Note:**** I had my iPod on shuffle while writing this, and I have to say that the two songs that describe this story (in my opinion, not sure what you think) are "This Is The Song (Good Luck)" by Punch Brothers, and "Secrets" by OneRepublic. Those songs just gave me such a feel for this story. What song do you think describes this story? If you review, please tell me! :)****  
**

**PS: Wow, longest chapter yet! Accomplishment get! :D**

**Review Responses:**

**JokerZCard: ****Yes, the movie just made me want to know more, so I let my imagination wander on the subject for a couple hours and got the resulting story. So glad you like it!**

**PeersHitInMoscow: I try very hard to put deep meanings and arguments about society and the human spirit in my writing. I'm so glad you noticed! After the movie I was so completely infatuated with the Bane/Talia relationship that I just had to write about it! Please keep Reading and Reviewing! Love to hear your thoughts on this and future chapters.  
**

**Sullen Girl: I felt exactly the same! They gave us these entrancing and infinitely interesting characters with such complicated back stories, then made the explanation only two minutes long! I hope my longer "paraphrased" explanation of their back story is what you were hoping for!**

**HyperCosmo:**** Yes, the movie was phenomenal! I believe it was the best of the trilogy. TDKR Bane was vastly more entertaining and interesting (and dare I say _lovable_? xD) than ANY of his other representations! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story, and I promise to make sure Bane (when he returns) is the best he can be!**

**Chapter 3: Close**

It was a little village with a population just barely scoring a hundred. It didn't even have a name.

What a strange place to find one's destiny.

Talia wandered the streets for a while, and was lucky enough to find a newspaper with most of the pages still intact. She found a man lounging nearby and asked him to read it for her, as she had never learned to read or write. There was nothing of much importance in the reports. The main article was about some rich American boy whose parents had been murdered. She thought it was stupid for him to be in the paper. Stories like his, and worse, happened every day. She had spent the whole of her existence in the bottom of a prison pit. Her best friend had risked his life to help her escape, and was beat half to death in the process. She had been homeless for ten months while searching for a father she'd never met, never embraced, never even heard the voice of. How was his life a tragedy, and hers not? What made him so special?

The world wasn't fair. The people, society, all of it was just so unbalanced. If she ever got the chance, she would change it all. She would reset the scales…someday.

As she walked down the street, she saw a dog slink out of an alleyway and head towards a little restaurant. It was dirty, and you could see its bones because it was so malnourished and underweight. Trotting up to the small café, it began sniffing around a man who had finished eating, half his sandwich still sitting on his plate as he walked in to pay the clerk. The dog slowly reached up and grabbed the sandwich. It began eating just as the man came back out.

"Hey!" he shouted, "Let go of that, you mangy scrap!" He kicked the dog hard. Crying out, it dropped the sandwich and backed away a few steps, staring at the man sullenly. "Well?" he yelled, "Go on. Leave!" Talia ran up and embraced the still whimpering dog.

"Stop! Can't you see you've hurt him?" she said angrily.

"Mutts defending mongrels. How touching," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I guess all trash belongs to the same bin in the end." He walked away nonchalantly, as though nothing had happened.

Talia grabbed the sandwich and gave it to the dog then, after petting it for a few minutes, stood and left.

It was nightfall by the time she reached the inn, the setting sun driving purple and orange streaks through the clouds. There was a camouflage jeep and truck in front of the pub. Big men with guns at their hips were loading their things into the vehicles. They had apparently just finished their stay in this town and were departing.

Walking into the bar, Talia approached the counterman. "Excuse me, sir," she said politely, "Have you seen or heard of Ra's al Ghul anywhere near here? He looks like this." She showed him the picture of Ra's, which she had now colored in using descriptions from people in other cities. He nodded. "Really? Where is he?"

"Leaving. Those are his men outside. They were here for one night. Actually, I think that's him directing the man with that last bag."

Talia put the picture back in her pocket and ran out as fast as she could. Heart racing, she looked around. A big man was kneeling and tying his shoe. He stood up and reached to open the car door. He looked around as he did so, and their eyes met.

Her heart stopped.

Those blue-green eyes, at once hard and brave, but soft and caring. His skin, just the slightest bit tan from years of desert expeditions. His hair was short and untidy, though it looked like he had tried to comb it. His body was muscular and tall.

He was, without a doubt, Ra's al Ghul.

She had found her father at last.

He looked at her for a few moments more, a fascinated expression on his face, then it disappeared just as quickly, and he was climbing into the car, and the vehicles were starting up, and they were starting to move. She began to run after them, but it was too late. Her shock and euphoria had kept her from approaching him sooner. If only she hadn't bothered with the newspaper, or the stray dog; he wouldn't have left yet.

She hurried back in to the counterman. "Do you have horses, donkeys, bikes, anything I can ride?"

"I'm sorry, we don't. I feel so bad that you missed the guy you were looking for. Now you might never see him again."

"Hell I won't. Where are they going?" she asked.

"Next town over, far as I know."

"How far is it from here?"

"About thirty kilometers from here, I'd say."

"Thank you for all your help, sir." She began to leave.

"How are you going to get there in one night? You don't have any sort of vehicle." The man said, puzzled.

"I'm going to run there."

"You can't run all that in one night! You'll kill yourself!" he exclaimed.

"I didn't escape the pit just so I could watch my father drive off into the distance."

"Father…?"

She ignored his confusion. "Besides, if I can't catch him now that he's so close, what's the point of me being free in the first place? If I don't find him now, I never will."

And so, filling her mind with a mental snapshot of her father as motivation, she exited the building and began to jog the direction the mercenaries had gone.


End file.
